I really wanted to love this movie. The film starts off with a bang, the first act sees us at the 1964 World's Fair, we hear the song from Carousel of Progress, and get to take a ride on It's a Small World. Overwhelming synergy overload aside, I loved the first half of this film. You really couldn't guess what was coming next, it did a great job of setting up the stakes, and the sequences were fun and clever. However, somewhere after George Clooney's character starts to reveal details about the real Tomorrowland, and his own childhood experiences with a child-shaped android, the film takes a nosedive for me. It becomes more and more clear that we're not going to get a satisfying conclusion and the film just sort of ends, because it wants to. The message is beautiful: to keep hope alive and to never give up on a bright future. But the movie tells us to be inspired, rather than actually inspiring us. They save the day at the end, but it doesn't feel organic, more like they do it because the film's running time was running out. Maybe there's thirty minutes on the cutting room floor that help square it away. I love Brad Bird. I love his directorial style and the messages he tries to convey. I just wish this film did a better job of that and had a better climax.

Seeing the movie opening weekend, they gave us a Tomorrowland pin and E-tickets for the film, reminiscent of the old style ride tickets from Disneyland when it first opened. While I absolutely adore the pin and everything it represents, it's the epitome of everything wrong with this film: They get the props, production design, and feeling right, but without a good and memorable story to hold it up.

3 Stars (out of 5)

Having never seen any of the previous Mad Max films I was a bit hesitant to jump into this one, but after hearing such great things about Fury Road I had to see what the fuss was about. Fury Road is an amazing action movie, and the type of action movie you just don't see any more: One that isn't mindless mind-numbing CG nonsense. Even though this film is pretty much a two-hour chase scene, it still takes a few moments to let you catch your breath now and again. It has genuine character development. And it has a female character not just supporting the male lead, but actually holding her own. In fact, what is most monumental about the story is how the two main leads help each other, playing to each others' strengths, throughout the story. They use teamwork. Not a man saving a woman, or a woman saving the day despite the fact that she is a woman, but two people, working together, regardless of gender.

The film's world is fully realized, yet never clumsily explained. Things just are the way they are, and we can enjoy seeing it, without having it shoved down our throats. Many of the big action set-pieces utilize practical effects, real explosions, incredible specially made vehicles, and even dummies rather than CG humans when the story calls for someone to kick the bucket. Sure there are some CG flourishes here and there, and even a big sandstorm that's all effects, but it's always done with the weight and reality of an old-school movie before computers took over. I enjoyed the story, characters, and the entire ride. And you don't have to be familiar with the prior films to get into this one as it's perfect as a stand-alone film. Would watch again.

4 Stars (out of 5)